Chapter 320: Face-Slapping – 4
Yuan He flung her sleeve. “Do you have any idea what you are talking about?”
“So I’ll take that as a no? Well, it’s not that I’m looking down on you, but I thought you had more guts than this,” Fu Zhi said, taunting Yuan He.
Yuan He was now standing about one meter away from Fu Zhi. Mia and her group had left long ago, but her colleagues were watching her in front of the screen.
“Who said I don’t have the guts?” Yuan He replied, gritting her teeth. There was no way she would allow a girl younger than her to taunt her like that. Lifting her chin in a haughty manner, she said, “Since you have a death wish, I’ll make it happen for you. If you really can win without relying on Gu Yan or Mia, then I will ask my people to resign from the Physics a.s.sociation!”
She could not stand the way Fu Zhi acted as if she was above everyone else. She also did not like it that she had put her on the spot by questioning her motive for inviting Mia over for an exchange meeting in public.
Right now, Yuan He wanted nothing more than for Fu Zhi to lose the compet.i.tion. She wanted her to realize what a difference there was between them and feel sorry for everything she had done to Gu Yan.
With that thought in mind, she said, “If you lose the compet.i.tion, then you’ll have to apologize to Gu Yan and me in front of the press as well as admit that you’re jealous of Gu Yan and you suppressed her in secret!”
“Sure. If I lose the compet.i.tion, I will a.s.sist you in deceiving the internet again and also help you guys realize that vain dream of yours. After all, this is the only chance you guys have of becoming famous since you don’t have any real skills to back yourselves up,” Fu Zhi said, disregarding Xia Tian, who was trying to hold her back.
The people in the Physics a.s.sociation were stunned when they listened to the conversation between Fu Zhi and Yuan He. None of them could come back to their senses, as they had not expected that this young girl, who seemed to them to be entirely concerned only about personal grudges, would dare to bet against Yuan He.
Forget about whether or not the exchange meeting would be of help to the team. All of them felt that she was really ignorant when she said that she could win the compet.i.tion.
After all, everyone knew about the shady practices behind the compet.i.tion in Country M. It was just that they could not get any solid evidence on their hands, which was why they could not bring Country M to justice.
All of them reckoned that Fu Zhi had to be really full of herself, or she would not have made such a bet against Yuan He.
Sheng Hua was not in the meeting room right now, so his secretary said, “But if we look at the statistics, Gu Yan is the most stable out of the remaining partic.i.p.ants. I really don’t suggest you switch her out at the last minute.”
The international Physics compet.i.tion was divided into two parts. The first part was a written test when each partic.i.p.ant would be given a test paper of their own, while the second part was the group a.s.sessment when each group would be required to summarize the core idea of the topic given by the examiner, make a presentation, and send an individual to present their idea.
During the written test, each partic.i.p.ant would be given 90 minutes to finish the test paper. Each test paper was worth 200 points. The computer would then judge whether the answers given were right or wrong and calculate the points acc.u.mulated. Therefore, one could not help each other in a friendly match, and it was practically impossible for the partic.i.p.ants to cheat during this part.
However, things were slightly different when it came to the oral presentation. Out of the 10 judges, eight were from Country M, and it was entirely up to them to decide whether they liked their presentation or not.
Theoretically speaking, if they wanted to win, they had to make a lot of effort during the first part.
“You only need to send Zhou Zihuai here. You don’t have to worry about the rest.”
There was no way the secretary would not be worried. “Our chance of winning the compet.i.tion is very low to begin with, and now you want to replace Gu Yan with Zhou Zihuai? It has been a long time since we won this compet.i.tion, and do you have any idea how much pressure we’re facing?”
Another person chimed in, “It’s fine for you to lose the compet.i.tion, but who’s going to help us if we’re attacked on the internet?
“Or did the President give you so much authority that you don’t know how to restrain yourself?
“Girls are not fit to lead teams. They are too emotional. We should let boys hold the leader’s position!”
“If we don’t get first place in the written test, I will let Gu Yan enter the team, and I will apologize to her and Yuan He right away.”
Fu Zhi said calmly, “I’m just informing you guys about the bet between me and Yuan Hua so that you guys can be witnesses. I’m not at home right now, yet you guys still want to control me and tell me what I should do and what I shouldn’t do? If I hear another word from any of you guys, I will quit the compet.i.tion!”
‘Hmph! Do you think you guys are the only ones who know how to threaten people? Hah, you’re so naive!’
The secretary did not know what to say, as this was something he had not expected. He had not expected Fu Zhi to pull this on him and he had to admit that, no matter how reluctant he was, he was quite afraid that Fu Zhi would withdraw from the compet.i.tion.
After all, Sheng Hua seemed to hold Fu Zhi in high regard, and if he found out that Fu Zhi had withdrawn from the compet.i.tion, bad things would happen.
However, Yuan Hua was different. She let out a sneer and said, “Then I will wait for your good news, Ms. Fu Zhi.”
Fu Zhi waved her hand to shoo her away as if she was chasing away an annoying fly. “Yeah, yeah, I know you don’t want your job anymore. Go back, get your stuff packed, and wait for the good news.”
*
At 8:00 p.m, the Ford Residence was bright as day. A welcoming banquet was taking place, and the main guest that night was none other than the Li Corporation.
Li Nanli got out of the car. He was wearing a well-pressed suit tonight that complimented his figure. He looked just like a prince that had walked out of a drawing, regal and handsome.
The group of paparazzi began to take pictures of him, and camera flashlights were flashing non-stop.
When he arrived at the mansion, the receptionist was stunned for a moment but soon recognized the man standing in front of him.
“Welcome, President Li.” He welcomed Li Nanli in c.r.a.ppy Mandarin.
In fact, ever since Li Nanli had come to Country M, every foreigner who had talked business with him and communicated with him had spoken Mandarin.
This was a rule set by Li Nanli. Everyone in Country M was welcome to talk business with him, but his first rule was that they had to speak Mandarin.
This was because he’d only talk to those who spoke Mandarin to him.
Jiang Jinshu raised his eyebrows when he saw the reaction of the receptionist and was once again astounded by how powerful Li Nanli’s influence was in this part of the world.
When they were inside the mansion, Li Nanli suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Nanli!”
No sooner had a voice rang out than a scrawny man walked over to Li Nanli. He was wearing a tuxedo and he had a gentle look about him. It seemed like he was in his mid-forties.
The man was Mr. Ford, and behind him were his wife and his only daughter, Mia.
Mia was a pretty girl. She had a head of golden hair, a pair of blue eyes, and a tiny face. When she saw Li Nanli, her cheeks flushed.
Mr. Ford noticed his daughter’s reaction, so after he briefly exchanged some pleasantries with Li Nanli, he pointed at his daughter and introduced her to him. “This is my daughter, Mia. You may have met her twice a few years ago, but she was a bit small at the time.”
Then, he paused for a moment before adding, “I think this is fate. You guys have just met each other a few times, and she told me that she admires you very much. I think this is a small thing people call fate.”
He gave Mia a signal, and her heart skipped a beat. Then, she said shyly, “I always ask my dad to tell me about you, and now I can recite every deed related to you even with my eyes closed...”
When he heard what Mia had said, he raised his eyebrows and replied, “Do you want to write my biography?”
Mia was stumped. She was a little baffled, but she soon recomposed herself and said, “Ha ha! You’re so funny, President Li. I wasn’t thinking of writing a biography for you. I just hope that if you don’t mind, you could give me a chance to learn from you.”
Li Nanli replied, “I don’t want to, and I kind of mind.”
Mia did not know what to say, and she nearly started to cry. She did not cry in the end because Li Nanli suddenly frowned and said impatiently, “It’s too noisy here. Let’s talk upstairs.”
When Li Nanli saw that she wanted to tag along, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and asked her gentlemanly, “Do you need Jiang Jinshu to drag you away from me?”
Mia was stumped once more. She looked at Li Nanli in disbelief, not understanding why her beauty, which she took so much pride in, seemed worthless to the man.
Unable to hold her tears back anymore, Mia pushed everyone away and rushed out of the banquet hall.
Jiang Jinshu could imagine Li Nanli writing a book. He’d even thought of a book t.i.tle for him—”How To Become An Insensitive Man”.
Mr. Ford felt embarra.s.sed. He had not expected Li Nanli to reject his daughter so openly. “I apologize on behalf of my daughter, President Li. Please don’t...”
He wanted to tell Li Nanli not to take this to heart, but he knew Li Nanli inside out. He knew he would seize this opportunity to blackmail him, so he said, “Mia met some rude partic.i.p.ants from China today, and she...”
Li Nanli raised his eyebrows and interrupted him. “Partic.i.p.ants from China?”
Sensing his interest in this topic, Mr. Ford hastily said, “Yeah. The partic.i.p.ants that are going to take part in the international Physics compet.i.tion were rude to my daughter, and I plan to teach them a couple of lessons.”
Upon hearing what he said, his wife chimed in, “Didn’t you promise Mia that you were going to break the team leader’s arm?”
Mr. Ford smiled in a forced way and reprimanded his wife. “Alright, shut your mouth.”
He knew Li Nanli had been a soldier before, and he had heard about the way he had stood up for his fellow countrymen in a foreign land when they had been mistreated.
Human lives were worthless in Country M, but they had to do this kind of thing in secret.
He observed Li Nanli’s expression. However, the man just smiled at him and lit a cigarette.
Mr. Ford could not see it, but Jiang Jinshu saw the ruthlessness that flitted across his eyes in that split second and knew Li Nanli had to be planning something.
Just as Jiang Jinshu had expected, when Liu Mi came to pick them up, the first words Li Nanli said after he got in the car were about Mia.
“Mr. Ford’s daughter...”
He seemed to be deliberating over his words. Considering the fact that Mia was still young, he ordered, “Let’s break her left arm.”
He had decided to leave her right arm untouched, as he was certain that Fu Zhi must have planned something for her for the compet.i.tion.